College Hoops Viewing Guide: December 8, 2013

On Saturday...

Texas went to Philadelphia and defeated Temple in overtime, but BYU wasn't so lucky on its trip east, as Chaz Williams (32 points, 15 assists) helped push UMass past the Cougars in Springfield, Mass. Missouri took out UCLA hours before both the Tigers' football and undefeated volleyball teams lost in elimination action. Colorado's Askia Booker stunned Kansas at the buzzer. Arizona got all they could handle from UNLV, but the Wildcats prevailed and will ascend to the top of the polls on Monday. New Mexico dumped Cincinnati from the ranks of the undefeated. Tony Bennett went home to Green Bay and he and his Virginia left with a loss. Xavier, Iowa State, and Harvard all needed overtime to defeat Bowling Green, Northern Iowa, and Boston University, respectively. Villanova routed St. Joseph's to move to 2-0 in the Big Five. Illinois State handed Dayton a defeat that will send the Flyers tumbling from the rankings. Saint Louis defeated Valparaiso by a bucket, while South Florida held on against Alabama by the same margin.

Whew...that was a lot. Thankfully, exam week is coming up, which provides a bit of a breather (though there are a few more interesting games on the midweek schedule than in many previous seasons). However, there's one more busy day to get through before studies take center stage.

All TV info is courtesy Matt's College Sports on TV site. He has many more games listed, and you'll also want to check out his listings for information on which ACC and SEC regional contests and CSN, FSN, and Root Sports games (all games listed in these posts marked with an *) are available on which affiliates.

All times are Eastern.

BB&T Classic

Oklahoma Sooners (7-1) vs. George Mason Patriots (5-3), 1 p.m. (MASN/FSN*)
The Patriots have followed a 4-0 start with three losses in their last four, including Wednesday's collapse against USF. They'll welcome a Sooner team that heads East for the second time this season. On their first trip, they managed to defeat Seton Hall in the Coaches vs. Cancer semifinal before falling to Michigan State in the championship game, OU's lone loss of the season.

George Washington Colonials (7-1) vs. Maryland Terrapins (5-3), approx. 3:30 p.m. (MASN/FSN*)
After a 2-1 trip to Anaheim (and a midweek win over Rutgers, though that won't provide much of an RPI boost), the Colonials are flying high and looking like another team of interest in what's looking to be a wild Atlantic 10 race. GW can really put itself on the national radar with a victory over a Terp team that was steamrolled by Ohio State in their Big Ten/ACC Challenge contest on Wednesday, a defeat that ended Maryland's four-game win streak.

Other Games Of Note

Virginia Tech Hokies (6-3) at Miami Hurricanes (5-4), 12:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
The ACC schedule opens up with a game between two teams that are likely to finish closer to 15th place than 1st.

Washington Huskies (4-3) at San Diego State Aztecs (6-1), 3 p.m. (CBS SN)
Last time out, the Huskies needed overtime to defeat the worst Long Beach State team in recent memory -- in Seattle. That means they probably won't have much luck when confronted with the Aztecs in front of "The Show." However, given UDub's tendency to play in close games, it should at least be entertaining.

Illinois Fighting Illini (7-1) vs. Auburn Tigers (4-2) at Atlanta, 3 p.m. (SEC on FSN*/ESPN3)
Last season, the Tigers actually gave the Illini a hard time in Chicago, with John Groce's team prevailing by only two. In 2013, Illinois heads south and the visit just happens to coincide with a day many Auburn fans may still be in Atlanta after the Tigers' SEC championship win on Saturday evening. The only question is: how many of them will be sober enough (or indeed, interested enough) to head to Philips Arena for this one.

Oregon Ducks (7-0) at Mississippi Rebels (6-1), 5 p.m. (ESPNU)
The undefeated Ducks head to the Mid-South to take on Marshall Henderson and the Rebels, who just suffered their first defeat on Thursday night at Kansas State. Given that Oregon has already defeated Georgetown in Korea, a long domestic trip probably won't faze the Quack Attack.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (6-2) at Creighton Bluejays (6-2), 6 p.m. (FS1)
Given the Bluejays' struggles at the Wooden Legacy, this one's result is not as much of a lock as it would appear to be at first glance. However, the Huskers will be challenged to match the Bluejays on offense and may struggle to stop them.

Boston College Eagles (3-5) at USC Trojans (5-3), 7 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
Mmm...smell the power conference mediocrity. After getting their doors blown off at Purdue on Wednesday and with several difficult games to come before the New Year, Steve Donahue's Eagles need to leave L.A. with a win.

Seton Hall Pirates (5-3) at Rutgers Scarlet Knights (4-5), 8 p.m. (ESPNU)
Just think, if these two teams were still in the same conference, we might have to watch two of these contests each season. Perhaps this contest should be scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend in future seasons. Keep this in mind when setting up your TV's favorites list tonight: neither of these squads could do what Princeton did last night -- defeat Fairleigh Dickinson.

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